It’s part of the company’s international growth plans.
(Press Release) Marchon Eyewear Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of eyewear and sunwear, announced the acquisition of a majority interest in the company’s exclusive distributor in Turkey, Enternasyonal Gözlük, now operating as Marchon Turkiye.
The deal closed on July 28.
This acquisition is in line with Marchon’s overarching international expansion plans and growth objectives. Turkey is a sizable and growing market, which is rapidly advancing in population and affluence with an important and relatively young, fashion-conscious demographic.
“This is an important and strategic acquisition which allows us to take a majority ownership interest in our business and distributorship in Turkey,” said Nicola Zotta, president & CEO of Marchon. “We have found fantastic partners in Enternasyonal Gözlük and we are pleased to expand our relationship with them and our presence in Turkey. Since we began working with their organization almost a decade ago, the team has successfully grown the business in Turkey, despite the fluctuating political and economic climate. Now that we are directly invested, we plan to accelerate our growth with the goal of Turkey becoming one of our top 10 global markets.”
Enternasyonal Gözlük was formed in July 2010, headed by principals Emre Başıbüyük and Oktay Apaydın, to distribute Marchon’s portfolio of licensed eyewear products. The principals had previously worked with Marchon in the region since September 2008 as exclusive distributors of Marchon’s Nike Vision eyewear in Turkey.
“Given our long and valued relationship, we are honored to join forces with Marchon in Turkey,” said Başıbüyük. “We share the same values and strategic goals for the business and we are committed to rapidly growing Marchon’s market share in Turkey.”
Marchon markets its products under brand names including Airlock, Calvin Klein, Chloé, Columbia, Diane von Furstenberg, Dragon, Etro, Flexon, G-Star RAW, Karl Lagerfeld, Lacoste, Liu Jo, Longchamp, Marchon NYC, Marni, MCM, Nautica, Nike, Nine West, Salvatore Ferragamo, Sean John and Skaga. Marchon distributes its products through a global network of subsidiaries and distributors, serving over 80,000 accounts in more than 100 countries. Marchon is a VSP Global company.